WASHINGTON — What a difference a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars in modernizing its electric distribution system is making, Pepco said.

[related_gallery align=”right”]Back in 2008, compared with power companies around the country, Pepco was near the bottom in reliability, but the company says 2017 marked the lowest average number of outages ever for customers in Maryland and D.C.

In Maryland, the average number of outages was down 30 percent from the previous low, set in 2016. In D.C., outages decreased 20 percent from a low set in 2014.

When the lights went out, they came back on 37 minutes faster in D.C., and 14 minutes faster in Maryland, according to a news release.

In addition to investing in its distribution system, the company says it has been inspecting existing infrastructure, trimming trees and installing stronger, tree-resistant aerial cable, as well as building underground equipment.

In 2016, Pepco Holdings, Inc. and Exelon Corporation merged.

Pepco’s sister company, BGE, which serves central Maryland, also touted record reliability, dropping its previous average number of outages by nearly 20 percent, and shaving five minutes off the time it took to restore power.